44 pages • 1 hour read
Shen FuSix Records of a Floating Life
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1809A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Clothing
Clothing is a recurring motif through Six Records of a Floating Life. Descriptions of clothing in the text provide insight into historical norms and fashions of dress during that time period. The details that Shen Fu chose to describe also illustrate important elements of various characters’ circumstances, status, and relationships. During the Qing Dynasty, clothing was closely associated with one’s social position, wealth, and status. Certain styles and accessories were restricted to particular demographics, either by law or convention, and the wealthy could afford very different fabrics and fashions to those available to lower classes. Fashion and textiles also were one of very few spheres through which women were permitted to express, promote, or support themselves, though in a restricted manner highly dependent on their social status and the permissiveness of their next of kin.
Shen Fu describes elements of his own clothing and that of other characters throughout the text, with significant abnormalities, changes, or choices symbolizing important information about the wearer or the situation. In the beginning of Part 1, Chen Yun’s prettily embroidered shoes represent her artistic skill, her diligence in supporting her family, and—given the cultural association of bound feet with eroticism in pre-Modern China—Shen Fu’s romantic feelings toward her. Her care toward Shen Fu is symbolized by her making his “cuffs and collars” herself. The extent of Shen Fu’s poverty in Part 3 is illustrated by the fact that he is unable to buy his daughter sufficiently warm winter clothes to keep her from “shivering,” while his desperation reaches its symbolic peak as he contemplates selling his underwear to pay for passage to seek help from his cousin. Shen Fu judges the attractiveness and worth of the women working on flower boats in Part 4 as much by their clothing as their other characteristics. For women engaged in sex work, clothing is far more a matter of advertising than it is personal taste, and so all of the women on each boat conform with that boat’s theme. This symbolizes their lack of agency in life and work, as well as the fact that Shen Fu and his peers viewed them as interchangeable commodities rather than equal human beings.
Rice Porridge
Prior to Shen Fu and Chen Yun’s marriage in Part 1, Chen Yun secretly keeps back a bowl of rice porridge to feed Shen Fu on his late return to her home. Shen Fu jokes that their love story would be called “Romance of the Rice Porridge” in the style of several influential pieces of Classic Chinese literature, e.g., Romance of the Western Chamber and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The rice porridge therefore symbolizes their relationship as a whole—particularly the romanticized and idealized version of it that Shen Fu remembers with nostalgia after his wife’s death. This kindly act symbolizes Chen Yun’s generous and thoughtful nature, as well as her dedication to providing Shen Fu with comfort and luxury. It also represents the fact that she is willing to prioritize Shen Fu’s wellbeing regardless of propriety or filial duty, as she lied to an older male cousin to keep back the porridge. The fact that they were both ridiculed and embarrassed for the gesture shows their naivety and youth and also hints at the future schisms between the couple and their wider families.
The Jade Bracelet
Chen Yun gives Han Yuan a jade bracelet as a symbol of her proposal that the younger woman to join Chen Yun and Shen Fu’s marriage as a concubine. The bracelet is given with the assumption that acceptance of the gift would be akin to an acceptance of the offer, just as Chen Yun was gifted a ring by her future mother-in-law to finalize her engagement to Shen Fu. To Chen Yun, the bracelet symbolizes precious love without end, but from a narrative perspective, it also symbolizes the class difference between Chen Yun and Han Yuan. The two women have different expectations and duties when it comes to marriage, which are reflected in their views on the bracelet. Han Yuan is to be a concubine, one whose superior qualities guarantee that her time and hand will come at a hefty cost. To her, the bracelet is an item of monetary value that symbolizes the couple’s interest in her and nothing more.
